Government Shutdown and Telehealth Impacts

News | Published: Tuesday, September 30, 2025

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A federal government shutdown is looming as the funding deadline draws closer. As part of this shutdown, some Medicare telehealth rules and other programs will be impacted starting Oct. 1.

If Congress does not act, current telehealth flexibilities will lapse resulting in:

• The return of geographic restrictions, limiting telehealth services to rural areas as they were before the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. 
• The requirement of "originating sites," so that Medicare patients will no longer be able to receive telehealth services in their homes. 
• The expiration of audio-only services for Medicare patients. 
• The lapse of the Acute Hospital Care at Home program.

Congress has made funding and policies retroactive in past government shutdowns. However, since the likelihood and duration of a shutdown are unknown, clinicians should consider adjusting their patient schedules for telehealth services.

ACC and MedAxiom remain committed to ensuring patients have reliable and continuous access to telehealth services and will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as they become available.

ACC Advocacy will continue to push for legislation that would make telehealth flexibilities permanent. The Creating Opportunities Now For Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) For Health Act (H.R. 4206/S. 1261) is just one of the bills ACC will be advocating for at this year’s Legislative Conference, kicking off on Sunday, Oct. 5. ACC has confirmed that regardless of whether there is a government shutdown, the ACC Legislative Conference and related Hill visits are scheduled to proceed as planned. Congressional office buildings are expected to be accessible to the public, and many offices have indicated they will remain open.

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